| Millside, Rehabilitation and Recovery Unit |
Millside is a mental health unit operated by Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust with accommodation for 30 clients and a day centre. The Trust having carried out a risk assessment which was concerned for the safety and security of their vulnerable clients especially at night and with the agreement of the fire service concluded that the installation of a residential fire sprinkler system installation designed to BS 9251 would alleviate this risk and allow for a more flexible approach in fire evacuation and staffing. Armstrong Priestley working with the Trust developed a specification for installing a residential fire sprinkler installation which would provide protection to all areas of the building including bathrooms and toilets (which are normally exempt) the roof void was also fully protected. One important aspect for the Trust was to ensure that fire sprinklers system in bedrooms could provide ‘anti ligature’ which is a requirement for this type of premises. To provide this facility we utilised an ‘institutional’ sprinkler head which is designed to break away at a low weight. In other areas different sprinkler heads were used including concealed heads where only a small white disk is visible. A very important aspect of any fire sprinkler system is the water supply and at a very early stage of the project we carried out an investigation with the water authority which revealed that the towns main was more than adequate to supply the fire sprinkler system and domestic water requirements for the building. To prove that the water supply was adequate to feed the fire sprinkler sprinkler and domestic water supply, a test arrangement with a digital flow meter and pressure gauge was used to measure the incoming supply. The installation work was undertaken while the building was fully occupied with our project management team and site staff coordinated the work with Interserve and health practitioners at the unit. This high level of coordination and cooperation resulted in the minimum of disruption to the unit with the down time in treatment rooms and bedrooms down to one hour per room. The residential fire sprinkler installation was designed to BS 9251 (Sprinkler systems for residential and domestic occupancies) |
